


i want you here with me (so i don't have to keep imagining)

by orphan_account



Category: The Maze Runner Series - All Media Types
Genre: Fluff, I COULDN'T HELP IT, I actually hate myself, I hate myself, M/M, i promise i'll finish slow and steady after this but, new work again, this is going to be a long ride, when do i not write fluff really
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-05-05
Updated: 2015-05-31
Packaged: 2018-03-29 03:51:26
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,087
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3881191
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Newt is Peter Pan and Thomas is Prince Charming and everything fits into place like puzzle pieces.</p><p>au where they both work at disneyland yay</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> i swear i did not mean for this to happen x

Newt didn't particularly like hanging around children who were noisy, messy and oblivious, but they had their moments. He was one of the lucky few who didn't have to go in full mascot for his job. Ben and Gally had to walk around in a pair all the time; not to mention while wearing the horrendous from-the-inside Chip and Dale costumes that the park lends them. Disneyland is where dreams come true he supposes, but a lot of the magic actually comes from a bunch of uni students trying (struggling) to pay tuition walking around as characters come to life.

His shift was one of the earliest so as to match with his class schedule; this meant that he had to deal with the liveliest bunch of toddlers, but it also meant that he had the same call and end time as Thomas. Thomas, who never seemed to run out of smiles or teasing directed his way, who was always dressed in costume as Prince Charming no less. He would find it comical really, that someone as clumsy as Thomas would be the choice candidate for the role of someone as elegant as Prince Charming, if not for the fact that the only way to describe how Thomas is with children is: graceful.

He makes his way over to the locker room now, only to find Thomas waiting for him already.

"Morning Newt!"

"Bloody hell of a morning it's going to be alright."

"Oh come on, the kids aren't that bad."

"No, but the pay is. I can't wait to graduate already."

"I thought growing up wasn't your thing."

"When will you stop with that joke?"

"When it stops being funny." Thomas sends Newt a grin with that statement, and Newt just rolls his eyes.

"Well come on then, we've got work to do. Is Sonya ready?" Newt quips after getting in costume.

"Texted me she's in front of the castle already."

"See you later then."

"Yeah."

Newt was set to walk around near the entrance of the park and greet all the visitors coming in. He was grateful that he usually didn't have a specific area that he had to stay in and was generally allowed to roam the park on his own. Today though, Brenda called in sick; so they were one man down on staff. Luckily, his shift ended right before lunch, when the park settled down for a bit. He didn't hate the place, quite the opposite really, it was great making the kids laugh and the parents smile, but what he really wanted to do was write. Words usually flowed through his fingers in a pace that was nothing but serene. Newt had found the distinction between things that make you happy and things that you are really passionate about a long time ago. His job at Disneyland made him feel happy; writing made him feel alive.

"Hey lady! Look! It's Peter Pan! I want a picture! Could I please please get a picture with him?"

Newt was broken from his reverie then; He made out someone who looked like Teresa dragging around an energetic toddler towards him with her. She worked as park management; she went around looking for anything or anyone that might seem suspicious or dangerous. Well chosen as too, nothing could get past that girl.

"Hey Newt, mind if you could give her a picture?" Teresa slipped him an apologetic smile then.

"Why did you call him Newt? His name's Peter Pan!"

"Yes it is! And I'm going to take you away to Neverland so you'll never have to eat vegetables!" 

"Yes! Yes! Yes! No more yucky carrot sticks!" The little girl raised her arms to presumably allow Newt to lift her, so he obliged and she now sat hung around his shoulders throwing fits of giggles every time Newt swung in another direction.

"Hey Peter! Look it's Prince Charming! He's coming this way! I wanna sit on his shoulders next!"

Newt assumes Thomas hears that last part because he plucks the girl of Newt's shoulders as soon as he reaches them.

"Hey kiddo! Is Peter Pan playing nice?"

"He is! He put me on his back and he's going to take me to Neverland so I don't have to eat vegetables!"

"Really? He said that?"

"I did." Newt says, the ends of his mouth curling up a bit.

"I didn't know Prince Charming was friends with Peter Pan!"

"Well he is, even if Peter Pan gets kind of grumpy sometimes." Thomas laughs at his own statement and so does the little girl.

"Peter Pan would like to argue that Prince Charming is an utter goofball, so he is equally lucky to have me as his friend." Newt quips, subsequently smacking Thomas on the head. This has the little girl doubling over in laughter again and Teresa grinning at all three of them.

"Okay, Harriet, that's enough fun, let's go find your parents, they should be finished with the ride now."

"Okay!"

They make their way over to the rollercoaster Harriet is obviously too small to ride and leave Thomas and Newt alone.

"Hey lady, can I ask you a question?"

"Of course you can. What is it?"

Harriet motions for Teresa to crouch down to her level and come closer.

"Does Peter Pan know that the prince is in love with him?"

"Not yet. Let's keep that secret between us okay?" Teresa 

"Okay! But the prince should tell him soon!"

"Yeah. He should."


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i'm sorry i haven't updated in a v v long time in my defense, this is a really long update for me. x

 

Newt was going to kill Minho. It was eight in the morning on his first day off for the week, and the guy decided to barge in his flat to wake him up. Minho was one of his best friends who worked in park maintenance and he'd actually be a great to have if not for all the crazy situations he'd gotten Newt in.

"Wake up Sleeping Beauty! Rise and shine!"

"I'm Peter Pan, so sod off and let me sleep in peace."

"I've just got to ask you something so just pick your ass up for five minutes will ya?"

Newt mutters something under his breath that sounds suspiciously like 'comes in to my flat and tells me to pick my ass up at eight am' to Minho, but he let's it slide because Newt is sitting up to face him.

"What is it, shank?"

"You know about that new section opening up right?"

"Well, bugger Minho, it's not like I work at Disneyland is it?"

"I hate your morning self. so much."

"You woke me up."

"Touché. Well, I'm in charge of one of the new rides so maybe you could come and test it for me later?"

"Wait, Minho wh-"

"Thanks! Forgot about something. I'll text you the details. Bye!"

If Minho couldn't run out the door that fast Newt would probably try and follow him out to hit him for not just texting him about this whole thing in the first place, but he resolves that another hour of sleep is too much to give up.

Newt ends up waking two hours later, and it isn't much of a problem because his first lecture doesn't start for another three. He checks his phone to see that Minho's sent him the promised text.

'New section drop tower. 8pm since i know you have classes 'till 6. Grab yourself dinner before pls.'

Newt sends Minho a prompt 'whatever.' and goes to make himself breakfast before he leaves for the library to finish up the rest of his homework.

He struggles to stay awake for all his classes but that doesn't stop him from taking all the notes he needs. Afterwards, he heads out from campus and grabs dinner. The air is chilly as expected, and Newt is grateful he decided to grab his coat this morning. He checks his phone again when he exits the café that sells his favourite sandwiches and notices Minho has sent him five texts reminding him not to forget to come; as if he had a choice. It's because of this that he doesn't see someone come up from behind him.

"Hey Newt!"

"Thomas! You scared the shit out of me! Warn a bloke will ya?"

"Sorry. I was just wondering where you were going?"

Newt shows him the stream of texts he's gotten from Minho and Thomas laughs when he pulls out his phone to show him the exact same thing.

"So, I guess we're both headed to work eh?"

"I guess we are."

The street where they're at isn't very far from the park, so they arrive in a matter of minutes. Teresa nods at them from the gates and motions for them to follow her.

"You guys can drop your stuff in your lockers if you want."

"I already left my stuff at my apartment, but I'll go with Newt, I'm pretty sure he's got a handful."

"Thanks for the observation captain obvious."

"Hey! I'm trying to be nice here!" The remark is paired with one of his fake gasps of hurt and it's hard for both Newt and Teresa not to laugh.

"Yeah, you are. Now shut up, Tommy."

"Did you just call me Tommy?"

"What did I just say?"

"For me to shut up, but-"

"That was a rhetorical question"

"Whatever."

"Guys you should get going Minho's already at the ride and he'll be pissed if he has to wait any longer."

"Screw Minho."

"Not literally."

At that comment, Teresa shoves them both away towards the direction of the locker rooms, both of them shaking with laughter.

After they drop Newt's things at the room they make their way to the new section of the park and both gasp at the sight because it looks amazing. Rides everywhere, a fountain right in the center and a couple of places to eat where the menus look surprisingly decent. Newt thinks it's what Disneyland used to look like to him when he was a kid.

"We should go find Minho. He said he'd be by the drop tower."

"Yeah."

They find Minho at the base of the ride, clapping his hands together in a very Minho-like manner and looking at them with a smirk on his face.

"Like what you see?"

"You, not so much. The ride, better." Newt quips. Thomas laughs at that.

"I hate you."

"We've already had this argument once today."

"We did. Fine. Just strap yourselves in and hold on tight."

"What? No briefing on who should avoid riding this?"

"You don't have motion sickness and you aren't pregnant. I'm assuming Tom boy here isn't either."

"I'm not."

"Great. Now get your asses in there."

They do what Minho says and he checks if their seat belts and straps are positioned properly. "Safety first." Newt rolls his eyes at that. Normal to say but sometimes he thinks safety is Minho's _last_ concern. When they're cleared for safety Minho moves towards the controls and speaks up.

"Ready?"

"As we'll ever be."

"Okay I'm going to press the button in three, two, one!"

Newt braces himself for the shot upwards and doesn't turn to look at Thomas for fear he might throw up on him during. It doesn't prepare him though. He thinks he hears a scream and he doesn't know if it was him or Thomas. or both. Then the ride comes to a stop and wow, they are up high. He can see his apartment all the way from up here. He expects the drop to happen soon, but it's been a full ten minutes and he hasn't felt the machine move in the slightest. That's when he hears a beep from his phone in his back pocket.

It shows a text from Minho.

'Are you guys okay up there?'

Newt turns to look at Thomas and he's smiling. He texts back a 'Yeah.'

Another beep.

'Good. Because you're stuck.' He stares at the words for what seems like hours.

'what. do. you. mean. stuck.'

beep.

'like. i. need. to. check. the. system. because. i. can't. get. you. guys. down. stuck.'

'you mean you didn't check before you let us on it.'

'i mean that's the point of testing it out.'

'shit.'

'yeah. shit. anyway you guys should be safe, i made sure the seats were bolted and attached properly. i'm gonna go check it out now.'

He realizes Thomas doesn't know anything about their current predicament and moves to show him the phone. He hands it over and covers his face with his hands.

"So, we're stuck."

"Yeah."

"And he doesn't know what's wrong with the ride."

"Yeah."

"Shit."

"Exactly."

And then they both lose it and start laughing. It shouldn't be funny at all, but it is.

"We're going to be up here forever!" Thomas chokes out in between laughs.

"Speak for yourself bambi, I'm Peter Pan. I can fly."

That just gets them even more.

When they finish it's quiet again, and Newt doesn't feel like the need to talk. Thomas just sits there looking as through he's having the time of his life. Newt thinks it's kind of weird, that right now Thomas feels sort of untouchable. As though Newt could reach for him and his hand would just be transported somewhere else. It really is weird, but it's also pleasant; like Thomas' is glowing and you can feel his warmth but not where it's coming from. If that makes any sense at all. Thomas' voice sounds like a whisper, but it's enough to shake him out of his reverie.

"Y'know I'm really scared of heights."

"What?"

"I, um well, I'm afraid of heights."

"You're shitting me right now right? You've been smiling the entire time we've been up here, and you knew what we were riding in the first place."

"Well, I can't answer that last part. Maybe it was on impulse."

"Maybe."

"Maybe."

"What about the part before that?"

"Y'know how you smile when your nervous? Like, because it's the most relaxed position for your mouth to sit?"

"Oh."

"Yeah. It's kinda because we're like 250 feet in the air ."

"Kinda?"

"Well I'm also kind of nervous because-"

"Because?"

"Because I'm here with you."

Thomas doesn't look like he'd like to talk about it, so Newt doesn't press. He just sits there and hums a bit because, despite the conversation, the air has neither turned uncomfortable nor awkward. He gets the urge every now and then to sneak a look at Thomas, but he ignores it for some reason.

When Thomas starts to sing, Newt's breath hitches; and it's not that Thomas' voice is particularly good or that he knows the song. It's that his voice swallows Newt completely and it's quite scary to know that he wouldn't mind drowning in it until the end of time. So he doesn't interrupt. He thinks he wouldn't mind staying up here all night.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i like to think chorus of 'ho hey' by the lumineers is what thomas sings at the end so you should listen to it if you wanna feel the vibe aye. sucky writing 101 with mountainlaurels back again.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay so uh there's a song in this part and i'd really appreciate if you listened to it while you read!! I put the lyrics in this so you'll know when to start it! (It's Bloom by The Paper Kites) Ahh, you won't understand how calming that song is until you hear it with your own ears omg

The first thing Newt did when he got off that bloody ride was smack the back of Minho's head. They were on that thing for nearly an hour and he'd begun to think they really were going to be stuck on it forever.

"Ouch! Hey, I told you that you'd be testing it!"

"I thought it was ready."

"It is. I just forgot to fix a couple of things."

"We could have died."

"I told you I made sure you guys would be safe. Plus, I got you both something to eat." Minho said this as he held up a paper bag. Something to eat turned out to be two sandwiches and a few cups of coffee.

"So, you're telling me you could've gotten us down earlier, but you decided to go and buy us food first."

"Oh c'mon, give me some credit. I asked Teresa to pick it up while I was working."

"So technically, Teresa got us something to eat. Not you."

"Is anything I say going to please you?"

"Depends on what you're gonna say next."

"What if I said you could go home? I still have a couple of weeks before this place opens and I'm sure I'll be able to find someone else to test it again no problem."

Newt's about to say that he'd be okay with going again, because being up there wasn't particularly bad, especially since Thomas is pretty good at keeping him company. That's when he remembers. Thomas. Thomas is afraid of heights. Thomas hasn't even strapped himself off the ride yet.

"Hey, Newt? You in there buddy?"

"Wait. I need to take this."

He makes his way over to Thomas and straps himself to the seat next to him.

"Hey."

"Hey. What are you doing?"

"I'm sitting next to you."

"Okay."

"Minho got Teresa to bring us some food."

"Later maybe."

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah. I just. It's just. Nah it's stupid. Nevermind."

"What is it?"

"It's just that, when we were up there, I wasn't as scared as I should've been."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah. And when I think about it, it was kind of beautiful up there. It's weird isn't it? How sometimes the things we're afraid of are things we find beautiful. Ah, I'm not making any sense again am I?"

"You are. It's kind of like how when you're in a museum and you want to touch the art and feel it, but you're afraid or either getting caught or ruining it. I think. Did I get that right?"

"Yeah. It's kind of like that. Minus the part where I could ruin it. How could I ever ruin something as good as that?"

"Then why are you still afraid?"

"Maybe I'm not. Not anymore."

"Good that. Hey, Minho still needs to test this out a couple more times. You up for it?"

"I think I am."

"Okay."

Newt gets off to tell Minho to fire up the ride again and after about five or six more tests and breaks in between Minho tells them it's enough and asks them if they felt too dizzy or if the ride was too fast or too slow. After the survey he tells them they should head home since he still has some stuff to do before leaving and hands Newt the food they were supposed to have earlier. They walk towards the locker room to pick Newt's things up and for Thomas to use the bathroom.

"Hey, uh Newt?"

"Mhhm?"

"Thank you. I mean, for the thing at the ride a while ago." Thomas looks a bit sheepish when he says this but Newt just shrugs it off.

"Anytime."

The rest of the walk is silent and when they reach their destination they split up without thinking—Newt to his locker and Thomas to relieve himself. They don't hear the door lock after them.

Thomas emerges from the bathroom a few minutes later, Newt waiting on one of the benches for him.

"I guess we should go." It sounds more like a question than a statement to Newt, but he'll just go along with it.

"Yeah. I guess we should."

"Do you have all your stuff?"

"Yeah. I don't have classes tomorrow either way."

"Oh."

Thomas tries to open the door at this point and it doesn't budge.

"Uh, Newt?"

"Yes?"

"Could you try opening the door?"

"Why?"

"I think it's locked."

"What?! It can't be locked! We just came in like five minutes ago!" Thomas can already sense the panic in Newt's voice before he tries to get the door open frantically.

"Hey just cal-"

"You don't understand! This can't be happening right now!"

"Just sit down for a bit okay?"

"I HAVE CLAUSTROPHOBIA OKAY I CAN'T BE LOCKED IN HERE."

Thomas freezes at that. He knows he should be taking this seriously and helping Newt calm down, but he can't help the burst of laughter that comes out of his mouth.

"I HONESTLY CAN'T BREATHE PROPERLY HERE WHAT'S FUNNY YOU ABOUT THAT YOU BLOODY TWAT?"

"I-I-I'm scared of heights and you're claustrophobic oh my god what kind of pair are we?! i think i'll be the one to stop breathing now….i'm ch-choking…..my lungs are running out of oxygen give me cpr, no it's too late for that, tell my future family i love them."

Newt punches Thomas' arm with all the strength he can manage at that. (which is honestly not a lot right now.)

"Ouch! Hey no need for that."

"You're a prick."

"A prick that just got you to stop thinking about your being claustrophobic."

"A prick that just reminded me."

"Oh. Well, I'm just going to have to show you just how big this space is then."

"Do it faster then I'm starting to panic again and you'll have to knock me out literally. Promise me you'll do that for me if I start hyperventilating."

"I'm going to say that you're starting to judging from you speaking a million words a minute."

"Just shut up and-"

Suddenly Newt can feel an an arm on his waist and a hand on his own. Thomas is moving them both around the confines of the room.

"What are you doing?"

"Correction. What are _we_ doing _? We're dancing._ "

"I don't know how to dance and i don't know how is this supposed to help."

"Just close your eyes and pretend we aren't here. I'll make sure you don't trip over anything."

"I'm going to fall."

"Fall then. Fall as many times as you want. I'll catch you. Promise."

Newt doesn't know what to say to that. He doesn't think it should be as comforting as it is. So he just does as Thomas says and closes his eyes.

"I can't believe we're dancing to nothing right now."

"Who says we're dancing to nothing?"

Thomas then proceeds to fill the room up with his voice; the same voice Newt wanted to drown in a couple of hours ago.

 

'In the morning when I wake

And the sun is coming through,

Oh, you fill my lungs with sweetness,

And you fill my head with you.'

 

Newt thinks he's heard the song somewhere before, but all he knows for sure right now is that it sounds like home. 

 

'Shall I write it in a letter?

Shall I try to get it down?

Oh, you fill my head with pieces

Of a song I can't get out.

Can I be close to you?

Ooh-oo-oo-ooh, ooh

Can I be close to you?

Ooh, ooh.'

 

He doesn't know how he knows, but he can feel Thomas is smiling through his singing. It dawns on him that he hasn't thought about being locked in the space for the time they've spent doing this. The reminder sends a shiver through his spine and he nearly trips over something with his leg, but Thomas holds him steady as promised.

 

'Can I take it to a morning

Where the fields are painted gold

And the trees are filled with memories

Of the feelings never told?

When the evening pulls the sun down,

And the day is almost through,

Oh, the whole world it is sleeping,

But my world is you.'

 

Newt can feel himself leaning into Thomas' touch and breathing more evenly and he's pretty sure Thomas can feel it too. He's actually calming down.

 

'Can I be close to you?

(Ah) ooh (aah), ooh (aah).

Can I be close to you?

(Ah) ooh (aah), ooh (aah)'

 

Thomas starts to whistle the tune at this point and Newt actually smiles, because Thomas can't really whistle all that well. He decides to pitch in then, knowing that he can't really whistle all that well either. The sound echoes off the walls of the locker room and it doesn't sound bad at all.

 

'Can I be close to you?

(Ah) ooh (aah), ooh (aah).

Can I be close to you?

(Ah) ooh (aah), ooh (aah).

Can I be close to you?

Ooh, ooh.'

 

Newt knows the song's ended and Thomas pulls him into a hug.

"Doing okay now?"

"Yeah."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah. I think I've embarrassed myself enough for one day."

Thomas pushes them apart then and looks at Newt.

"Promise me you'll tell me if you're starting to get all panicky again okay? I promise I won't laugh at you-or us again for that matter. I need to know when you need me though."

He holds up his pinky and Newt knows he should be questioning why they'd need to partake in the kind of gestures they made in preschool but the look on Thomas' face is serious. Newt resolves that this is important. He slots his pinky with Thomas'.

"Promise."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi! If you didn't see the note at the start of the chapter the song is Bloom by The Paper Kites and you should hear it if you haven't! (sucky writing 101 with mountainlaurels but I really enjoyed writing this chapter!! It might be my favorite but I have nothing planned for now so we'll see.) xx
> 
> Thank you for reading If you've reached this part then I probably love you a lot.

**Author's Note:**

> hello i am so sorry i cannot believe i started yet another fic and it isn't even a oneshot sorry i promise i'll try to edit Slow and Steady after this or in between chapters and i'm thinking of doing a newt! version of the most natural thing in the world (is having you next to me) because it got a really good response!! sucky writing 101 with mountainlaurels sorry friends i really am sorry but also thank you guys for leaving kudos and comments on my other stuff ily
> 
> also i wrote this purely because of an au i found on tumblr and i hate myself x


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